Sodium chloride is an important ingredient in many food products. However the average intake of sodium, especially in developed countries, is more than is physiologically needed. Excess intake of sodium has been related to hypertension. Hypertension in turn is correlated with other cardiovascular diseases and together they form a major health problem in developed countries.
Levels of sodium chloride are especially high in processed food products and many efforts have been made to reduce the levels of sodium chloride. For example, potassium chloride has been suggested to replace sodium chloride. However, potassium chloride tastes less salty and may be more importantly also imparts a bitter and metallic taste. Mixtures of different salts like ammonium chloride and magnesium chloride have also been disclosed as salt replacer formulations. However the disclosed formulations all seem to suffer from insufficient saltiness, off tastes, more complex processing, increased cost and limited applicability.
Unexpectedly, the present invention provides a food composition that overcomes one or more of the drawbacks mentioned above.